Friday, February 13, 2009

Foreclosure Protests at D.C. Offices Reflect Trend

By Darryl Fears,Washington Post Staff - Dozens of demonstrators with the community group ACORN barged into a District office that auctions foreclosed homes in upscale Chevy Chase yesterday and shut it down for an hour, chanting "No sales here."
In Rye, N.Y., and Greenwich, Conn., on Sunday, more than 300 people converged on the homes of two bank executives who opposed modifying loans to help homeowners and barraged the men and their neighbors with slogans.
And in Boston, Detroit, Memphis and Cleveland, protesters against foreclosures have gathered in recent months to confront bankers amid the worst housing crisis in three generations, demanding a moratorium on foreclosures until homeowners get a bailout similar to the one given to banks.
Many of the protests and acts of civil disobedience appear to be unrelated, and some organizers said yesterday they were unaware that a coalition of grass-roots groups called the Bail Out the People Movement is planning what they hope will be a massive demonstration on Wall Street on April 4.
Wall Street is being targeted because banks offered many people exotic loans that carried high interest rates they could not afford, said Larry Holmes, a coalition spokesman. Like other groups, the coalition is demanding a moratorium on foreclosures.

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If you're interested in endorsing and/or attending these protests please read on...

Dear activists,
Events have called upon us to make history. Future generations will look back on this moment to see whether we were able to understand what is at stake, and rise to the occasion.

We call upon you to join with the Bail Out the People Movement and the many community leaders, activists and organizations that are part of it, to help organize the first National March on Wall Street on Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4.

Yes! This is a two-day event. The first phase of the march will begin on Friday, April 3; thousands traveling to New York City from all over the country will join us on Saturday, April 4.

We invite you to a planning meeting for the national march, on Wednesday, February 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave., New York City. (between 34th & 35th St. - you'll need ID to get into the building. Trains: N, R, W, B, F to 34th St.; PATH to 33rd St.)

The Wall Street march will take place during the same week that the G20 countries are holding their second emergency global economic crisis summit meeting in London on April 2 and 3, which will be followed immediately by a 60th Anniversary of NATO summit meeting in Strasbourg, France on April 4. Both meetings will be the focus of strong protests against war and for economic justice.

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